Rear view and side view mirrors are common features in a variety of automobiles. In addition to one mirror typically located within the passenger cabin, usually towards the ceiling of the cabin and positionable so that a driver may view the environment through the rear window of the automobile, additional mirrors may be located on the side of the automobile and exterior to the passenger cabin. In some automobiles, one side-view mirror may be located on the exterior of the vehicle proximate to the driver-side door, while another nearly identical side-view mirror may be located on the exterior of the vehicle proximate to the passenger-side door.
Current control systems are provided which allow the driver to electronically adjust the orientation of the side-view mirrors provided on the vehicle. The side mirrors may be adjusted through manipulation of a control console. FIG. 1 illustrates a known control console 10 for adjusting side-view mirrors in an automobile. Control console 10 includes a mirror toggle switch 20, mirror control switch 30, at least one memory recall switch 40, and a memory set switch 50. Mirror toggle switch 20 allows the operator to determine which side mirror, the drive-side or the passenger-side, should be controlled. Once a mirror is selected, mirror control switch 30 may then be utilized to adjust the mirror either vertically or horizontally, as desired by the operator. Control console 10 may further include memory features. For instance, a plurality of memory switches 40 may be provided, each of which is associated with a set position of the side-view mirrors. In this regard, actuation of a first memory switch 40 may position the side-view mirrors to a set first position, while actuation of a second memory switch 40 may change the position of the side-view mirror to a second position. The memory switches 40 may be recalibrated by manipulating memory set switch 50 in conjunction with memory switches 40. For instance, an operator may set the side-view mirrors to a unique orientation and then actuate the memory set switch 50 simultaneously with one of the memory switches 40, thereby associating that mirror orientation with that memory switch 40.
While memory switches 40 may be provided for orientating the mirrors for operation of the vehicle while the vehicle is in forward drive gears, the orientation of the mirrors as the vehicle transmission switches to a reverse gear may be preset by the automobile manufacturer. In this regard, when the operator of the vehicle switches from forward to reverse gears, the side mirrors may automatically re-orient themselves to an orientation preset by the automobile manufacturer based on the driving position setting. A typical preset orientation results in sharply tilting the mirrors downward so as to view very low objects, such as a curb adjacent to the vehicle.